Selling Our Hospitals

Any Move Must Ensure Educating Future Physicians

October 17, 1995

In the march toward privatization of state functions, Gov. George Allen's administration is considering the sale of the teaching hospitals at Virginia Commonwealth University-Medical College of Virginia and the University of Virginia. As alternatives to such a sale, the administration is considering creating a quasi-governmental authority or a tax-exempt private foundation to take over management of the hospitals.

This is a subject worthy of study. Officials at the two universities say there is a widening gap between state allocations and the hospitals' cost of providing indigent care and medical education. Part of their financial burden comes from the state's cumbersome personnel and purchasing regulations, they say.

Still, Virginians take great pride in these two respected institutions. We must continue to educate new generations of medical personnel, and citizens must be assured that both the education programs and the service to the poor that these hospitals provide won't be aborted solely on the basis of a financial statement.

Most importantly, we find it troubling that the administration has been studying this issue in secret for several months. Word of the study leaked out last week, less than three weeks before a final recommendation is due on the governor's desk. We are confident that Virginia can reach the proper conclusion on how the hospitals should be managed, but only after a full and thorough public debate.